Mihail HalatchevNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94The Sunshine Economy, takes a fresh look at the key industries transforming South Florida into a regional powerhouse. From investments in health care, storm preparedness, international trade, real estate and technology based start-ups, tune in to learn more about one of the worlds most vibrant and diverse economies.NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94The Sunshine Economy | WLRNFri, 18 Aug 2017 03:51:11 +0000The Sunshine Economy | WLRNhttp://wlrn.org
Tom HudsonDr. Phillip Frost thinks it has become "heresy" to question the role of human factors in the changing climate. "I don't question that [the climate] is changing. But what I also know for an absolute fact is that over centuries it has been changing all the time," said Frost during a wide-ranging interview with The Sunshine Economy in which he discussed business, his philanthropy and the science museum that now bears his and his wife's names. Frost is the largest private benefactor of the new Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, which opened in May. The Frosts gave $45 million to the museum. Science has made Frost a billionaire three times over, running three different pharmaceutical companies. He has given millions of dollars to further scientific education through funding scholarships for Florida students to study science, technology, engineering and math at Oxford, and $100 million to create the University of Miami’s Frost Institutes for Science and Engineering. PROMOTING Phillip Frost Talks About Climate Change, The Science Museum And Doing Business In Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/phillip-frost-talks-about-climate-change-science-museum-and-doing-business-sunshine-economy
90346 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 13 Jun 2017 14:51:18 +0000Phillip Frost Talks About Climate Change, The Science Museum And Doing Business In Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonEntrepreneurship in South Florida region is very healthy. But it also is struggling. There is no doubt South Florida is having an entrepreneurial moment. Since the Great Recession millions of dollars have been spent by nonprofit groups, colleges, universities and others to stoke the entrepreneurial engine of South Florida. It is paying off with people starting new companies, but less than half of those companies will survive to celebrate their fifth anniversary. And fewer still will grow fast, according to the Kauffman Foundation . To get a sense of navigating the environment, we asked Brian Brackeen to share his schedule of the course of a week in mid-May with WLRN. Brian is the CEO of facial recognition software company Kairos. It is based in Wynwood. How South Florida's entrepreneurial environment stacks up: SURVIVABILITY Nancy Landi hopes to beat the odds of startups. Her previous new company effort didn't make it to celebrate its fifth anniversary. That was in the scrap metalThe State of Entrepreneurship In The Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/state-entrepreneurship-sunshine-economy
89865 as http://wlrn.orgWed, 07 Jun 2017 02:32:19 +0000The State of Entrepreneurship In The Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonDriving around Molly Curry’s condominium complex in Ft. Lauderdale, it’s obvious she is proud of her neighborhood. She lives in the Bay Colony Club Condominiums, in a condo she owns since 2000, when she moved in with her two school-aged daughters. They are adults now and no longer live with Molly, but she’s stuck around and hopes to start a new career from her home. Molly used to work for a company providing software to auto dealerships. Now, at 60 years old, she’s starting a new career -- as an entrepreneur. She is starting her own business connecting companies doing business with car dealers, like websites, marketing services, and media. She’s bootstrapping her start-up herself from her condo, the same one her mortgage company says no longer needs flood insurance. That sparked her question to our Palm Readers project. SEE RISK TO TAXPAYERS BELOW In March, Molly received a letter from her mortgage company saying she no longer needed flood insurance. For years, the complex was in aThe Sunshine Economy: Flooding and Financehttp://wlrn.org/post/sunshine-economy-flooding-and-finance
89004 as http://wlrn.orgWed, 24 May 2017 02:52:46 +0000The Sunshine Economy: Flooding and FinanceTom HudsonHenry Flagler’s railroad and Napoleon Broward’s pledge to drain the Everglades forged the beginnings of today’s modern South Florida. No two forces have been as influential on the economy as immigration and real estate. The two are intertwined with Flagler and Gov. Broward. Immigrants provided the labor, while the railroad and draining of the Everglades opened up real estate. We asked for listener questions about the economy and several of them were focused on these two issues. WHAT'S YOUR QUESTION? SUBMIT IT HERE. IMMIGRATION The issue of immigration has been big since the presidential race. Every month, the Gallup organization surveys Americans about what they think the most important problem is for the country. Earlier this year, immigration was mentioned as the most important challenge. It was bigger than jobs or the economy in general. Most people living and working in South Florida are not natives. About two-thirds of residents between Jupiter and Florida City were born in aHow Many Immigrants? Impact On Prices If The Undocumented Are Deported? Sunshine Economy Questionshttp://wlrn.org/post/how-many-immigrants-impact-prices-if-undocumented-are-deported-sunshine-economy-questions
88009 as http://wlrn.orgMon, 08 May 2017 20:19:36 +0000How Many Immigrants? Impact On Prices If The Undocumented Are Deported? Sunshine Economy QuestionsTom HudsonBy the time you read this, Florida lawmakers may have a proposed budget agreement. That's how fast multi-billion dollar decisions are made in the final hours of the Florida legislative session. The state budget needs to land by late Tuesday in order for legislators to vote on it by Friday, the scheduled end of the regularly scheduled 2017 session. If there's a spending plan that passes the House and Senate and Gov. Rick Scott agrees to it, there won't be a need for a special session to come up with the budget before the beginning of the next fiscal year in July. But the governor's signature is not a given. Leaders of the House and Senate have found middle ground on the total amount of spending -- about $83 billion dollars. That’s in the neighborhood of what Gov. Scott proposed spending on state operations, but how the governor wants to spend some of that money is very different than how his Republican colleagues in the legislature want to spend the money. Gov. Scott wants to state toThe State Budget And The Sunshine Economy: Process, Priorities and Politicshttp://wlrn.org/post/state-budget-and-sunshine-economy-process-priorities-and-politics
87676 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 02 May 2017 17:57:06 +0000The State Budget And The Sunshine Economy: Process, Priorities and PoliticsTom HudsonSometime before the end of this year, the state of Florida will have a new website with health care prices for patients. It's the result of a 2016 law and a five-year, $6.1 million state contract that was finalized earlier this month. The biggest health insurance providers in Florida are expected to contribute prices to the website: Florida Blue, Aetna, United Healthcare, AvMed and others. Under the law, these health insurers will have to share the prices they pay to Florida health care providers on behalf of their patients. These millions of prices for various procedures will go toward Florida’s most serious effort yet toward price transparency for health care. " I am not intoxicated with price transparency," said Health Care Cost Institute Executive Director David Newman. "It is not a silver bullet." The nonprofit group based in Washington, D. C. will build the website for the state of Florida. Pricing Data The institute already runs a site -- Guroo.com -- where it uses health-carePriceCheck: The Cost Of Health Care In The Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/pricecheck-cost-health-care-sunshine-economy
87175 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 25 Apr 2017 19:56:19 +0000PriceCheck: The Cost Of Health Care In The Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonWith three weeks left before the end of the regularly scheduled legislative session, the two chambers of the Florida Legislature are about $4 billion apart in their spending plans. While the gap is closing, the fundamental position of the top budget lawmaker in the House is to shrink state spending. "Our priority in the House was to limit the size of government," said Appropriations Committee Chairman Carlos Trujillo, R-Doral. The House-approved measure does that by cutting total state government spending by $1.1 billion below this year's budget. It is more than $2 billion less than Gov. Rick Scott's proposed spending plan and $4 billion under the Senate-approved measure. The ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, voted for the House budget. But he noted that "if the budget comes back to us because [Gov. Scott vetoes it] because we don't adequately fund some of the things he's looking for, the override runs through the DemocraticThe Budget Battle In The Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/budget-battle-sunshine-economy-0
86720 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 18 Apr 2017 16:57:58 +0000The Budget Battle In The Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonThe South Florida economy is more than a $300 billion engine with close to 3 million workers and 6 million people. Tourism, real estate, trade and agriculture are key industries driving the ups and downs. Housing costs are high and pay is relatively low. These were common themes to questions submitted to WLRN's new public-powered journalism project Palm Readers. We tried to answer some of these questions. (SEE IMAGE ABOVE TO COMPARE INCOME, HOME PRICES AND RENTS.) RELATED : Have a question to ask? Here's how to submit to Palm Readers Curious - Sarah Graff, Miami Graff is a medical student, wife and mother of a 4-year-old. She said she and her husband were shocked by home prices when they moved to Miami from Grenada. They were familiar with American housing prices. Her husband is from Wisconsin and she is from Southern California. "We set a budget and that budget got us nowhere," she said. They increased their budget beyond 30 percent of their income, "but that started to interfere withWhy Are Housing Prices So High? Is There A Limit To Rent Hikes? Questions About The Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/why-are-housing-prices-so-high-there-limit-rent-hikes-questions-about-sunshine-economy
85863 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 04 Apr 2017 19:56:44 +0000Why Are Housing Prices So High? Is There A Limit To Rent Hikes? Questions About The Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonBrightline hasn't picked up a train passenger yet or even announced what fares will be when it does, but its former boss says the passenger train service won't lose money during its first full year in operation. Mike Reininger is executive director of Brightline's parent company Florida East Coast Industries. Until earlier this month he was the CEO of All Aboard Florida, which will operate Brightline. "W e expect that we will be break even or profitable in 2018," he told WLRN's Sunshine Economy. The privately funding passenger trains are expected to begin running between new stations near the downtowns of Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in July. Trains will come to downtown Miami in August. Trains going north and then west to Orlando International Airport have been delayed up to 30 months, according to Reininger. FARES Brightline is not talking about passenger fares yet. It plans on releasing it's inaugural fare schedule when it releases its ticket-buying app. The closest ReiningerTrains, Tickets and Transit: Brightline in the Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/trains-tickets-and-transit-brightline-sunshine-economy
85305 as http://wlrn.orgWed, 29 Mar 2017 00:40:15 +0000Trains, Tickets and Transit: Brightline in the Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonBig cruise companies like Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival Corp. are increasingly turning to technology to step up their passengers’ on-board experiences and make boarding the ships more efficient in all aspects, including the design. That’s what Royal Caribbean has done with the new Edge class of ships it announced last week. It will be the first new class for the company in more than a decade. The company brags that they will be the first cruise ships designed entirely by 3D, including a virtual reality stimulator now housed at the firm's new Innovation Lab at its PortMiami headquarters. This investment in technology comes as the cruise business is booming. Profits at Royal Caribbean were up more than 20 percent in 2016 over 2015 thanks to record bookings . The company says this year began at a better pace than a year ago and with higher ticket prices. Its two Miami-based competitors, Carnival Corp. and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, also reported record profits last year. ReadThe Sunshine Economy: Technology, Cruising and a Booming Businesshttp://wlrn.org/post/sunshine-economy-technology-cruising-and-booming-business
84950 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 21 Mar 2017 20:31:03 +0000The Sunshine Economy: Technology, Cruising and a Booming BusinessTom HudsonThe lingering nature of water through the Everglades has been matched by the slow progress toward the massive goal of reviving the region with more water and cleaner water. It’s been 17 years since President Bill Clinton signed into law the bill that included the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan. That began the modern day effort to restore the Everglades after a century of draining and redirecting the water to create today’s South Florida. More than half way through the expected time frame for the work only a half dozen projects are underway. Funding, politics and economic interests have held back progress toward restoring more water flow through the system. ENTIRE COVERAGE: RIVER OF GRASS, DYING OF THIRST Florida Senate President Joe Negron hopes to change that this year. He wants lawmakers to approve spending $750 million to buy land and build a reservoir to store water south of Lake Okeechobee. That southern storage is in the original Everglades plan, but planning isThe Sunshine Economy: River of Grass, Dying of Thirsthttp://wlrn.org/post/sunshine-economy-river-grass-dying-thirst
84546 as http://wlrn.orgWed, 15 Mar 2017 20:17:41 +0000The Sunshine Economy: River of Grass, Dying of ThirstTom HudsonA Miami-based rapper. A second-tier English soccer club and a sports car racing team. What ties them together is Visit Florida, the state group that markets Florida to tourists across the country and across the globe. What also ties these three together is they provided the ammunition for opponents of using taxpayer money to promote tourism. There was the $2.9 million paid to International Motor Sports Association to put Visit Florida on the racing cars of a team. There was the $1.25 million spent to emblazon the Fulham Football Club kits with the words "Visit Florida." But the deal that brought Visit Florida’s business practices the most scrutiny was the $1 million deal with Mr. 305, also known as the singer Pitbull. The deal included social media mentions, concert getaways and the racy music video "Sexy Beaches." *FULL DISCLOSURE - FLORIDA* pic.twitter.com/RrCLMuSVwq — Pitbull (@pitbull) December 15, 2016 That deal was seized upon this fall by critics of Visit Florida -- namely theThe Sunshine Economy: Tax Money for Tourismhttp://wlrn.org/post/sunshine-economy-tax-money-tourism
84237 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 07 Mar 2017 04:04:00 +0000The Sunshine Economy: Tax Money for TourismTom HudsonNext year is almost here for American insurance companies wanting to sell plans on Healthcare.gov in 2018, assuming it survives the Obamacare repeal-and-replace effort. President Donald Trump and Republican governors met Monday and the top topic was the Affordable Care Act. The president and congressional Republican leaders have pledged to repeal and replace the federal health insurance law known as Obamacare. Any changes in Obamacare will have significant economic consequences for Florida - the largest state for sign-ups - and especially for South Florida, the region with the most participants in the state. As Floridians and the health industry await details on the repeal-and-replace effort, insurance companies are cautious, health providers are curious and the economic ripple effects of the decisions in the next few months could be huge. Uncertain Future For this week's radio program we spoke with four people operating at the highest levels of the healthcare industry. If there is oneThe Sunshine Economy: The Uncertainty Of Obamacarehttp://wlrn.org/post/sunshine-economy-uncertainty-obamacare
83781 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 28 Feb 2017 16:41:14 +0000The Sunshine Economy: The Uncertainty Of ObamacareTom HudsonOver the past year, Florida has been second only to California in the number of new jobs created with just over a quarter of a million new jobs. But California’s labor market is twice the size of Florida’s. The rate of growth of Florida's job market also ranked second in the nation at 3.1 percent. (Oregon was No. 1.) Millions of state taxpayer dollars have been spent in the effort to attract and grow jobs in Florida. But most of those dollars have stopped and a legislative effort is underway to do away with them altogether. It is a political fight between two top Republicans over economic development policy and the role of government. The state agency responsible for doling out money and marketing, Enterprise Florida, is under pressure and fighting for survival. Gov. Rick Scott has built his short political career on a single issue: jobs. He wants to continue using state dollars to entice companies to add workers in Florida. But the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives,Job Incentives In The Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/job-incentives-sunshine-economy
83314 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 21 Feb 2017 22:50:25 +0000Job Incentives In The Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonWhat started in part by a text in response to racial tension and police shootings of black men has turned into millions of dollars directed at economic development and investment in the black community. The bank black effort is an economic call to action as much as it is a social movement. One local bank, OneUnited, has received millions of new dollars in deposits thanks to the bank black movement. The bank is based in Boston with branches in Los Angeles and in Miami's Liberty City neighborhood. OneUnited Bank President and Chief Operating Officer Teri Williams was among those receiving a text last summer. It caught her attention because she helps run the largest black-owned bank in the country and the text mentioned her bank by name. Williams now credits the bank black movement for the entire $20 million in deposit growth the bank experienced in 2016. She says the bank's loan growth has been even stronger -- $50 million. But OneUnited concentrates its lending business on real estate,Banking Black in the Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/banking-black-sunshine-economy
82867 as http://wlrn.orgWed, 15 Feb 2017 11:48:27 +0000Banking Black in the Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonWith record tourism comes big business, but you won’t find a front desk at one of the largest lodging groups in the state - Airbnb. The home-sharing network has almost 33,000 hosts in Florida, generating millions of dollars for it and the hosts, basically property owners who rent a room, home or a condo for a few days to a visitor. The company calls it a short-term rental and insists it is not in competition with the hotel business. The traditional hotel business is growing in South Florida. Here's what 2016 looked like for hotels in Miami-Dade and Broward counties: SUPPLY While hotel occupancy was down in both Miami-Dade and Broward, there were more hotel rooms for guests to choose from. In Miami-Dade, the supply of hotel rooms jumped more than 4 percent last year to over 54,000. Over the same time, Airbnb's Florida business doubled, according to Tom Martinelli, the company's public policy director in Florida. He estimates about a third of Airbnb's listings in the state areAirbnb In The Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/airbnb-sunshine-economy
81962 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 31 Jan 2017 18:04:27 +0000Airbnb In The Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonSouth Florida home prices continued climbing in 2016 even as the pace of sales slowed, especially for condominiums.2017 Real Estate In The Sunshine Economyhttp://wlrn.org/post/2017-real-estate-sunshine-economy
81583 as http://wlrn.orgTue, 24 Jan 2017 21:17:54 +00002017 Real Estate In The Sunshine EconomyTom HudsonAs the 2017 state legislative session approaches, lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott already have been talking about their shopping lists of new ideas about how to spend taxpayers' money. There’s a laundry list of big issues legislators will need to address during their session: the death penalty, concealed carry, gambling. But there is no larger issue than the budget. It’s an $82 billion-plus document that dictates how the state spends money. And this year, as lawmakers make decisions about the next fiscal year beginning in July, it’s expected they will not have the financial wiggle room they’ve enjoyed since the Great Recession ended. While the Florida economy is doing OK, state revenues are forecast to increase only about $1.2 billion. Yes, it’s a lot of money, but not in the scope of Florida’s annual state spending plan. It represents the smallest annual percentage increase in Florida state government’s revenues since 2012. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater calls it a “realSunshine Economy: Florida's Financeshttp://wlrn.org/post/sunshine-economy-floridas-finances
81027 as http://wlrn.orgMon, 16 Jan 2017 14:41:26 +0000Sunshine Economy: Florida's FinancesTom Hudson"We need to keep as many weapons out of the airport as possible." Emilio González knows about weapons at airports. He's a military veteran. He's a concealed weapons permit holder. And he's the boss at Florida's busiest passenger airport -- Miami International Airport. " That's not to say that there isn't good rationale for concealed carry in other areas," he said, "but in an airport environment the fact that you could carry a weapon anywhere around there an incident could happen. It could be maybe something very benign. Law enforcement won't know but we will know that there is a bunch of people carrying guns and I think that would just exacerbate the situation." FULL EPISODE AUDIO BELOW Sarasota Sen. Greg Steube (R) wants to allow Floridians with concealed carry permits to bring their guns into unsecured areas of airports. His legislation includes baggage claim areas, such as the one which was the site of the mass shooting Friday at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. HeThe Sunshine Economy: After the Airport Attack http://wlrn.org/post/sunshine-economy-after-airport-attack
80640 as http://wlrn.orgFri, 13 Jan 2017 04:01:51 +0000The Sunshine Economy: After the Airport Attack Tom HudsonThe Florida economy may be humming along, but there is a budget problem looming for state lawmakers. In about a year and a half, the state is forecast to see a $1 billion difference between what it collects in taxes and fees and what it spends.That is a $1.3 billion budget hole. Legislators will start tackling the anticipated budget shortfall in their next session before the red ink starts. WLRN spoke with the top Republican and top Democrat on the Florida House Appropriations Committee, Carlos Trujillo and Jared Moskowitz, about state spending priorities, including health care, education, tourism and economic development. THE BUDGET Trujillo: If you look at it in actual dollar amounts, it's only a $7 million surplus for this fiscal year. If you look at the Fiscal Year 2017-18 it's a $1.6 billion deficit. So we are heading into a mini-recession here in Florida. We have a great revenue stream in Florida. We really have a spending problem. Part of our mission and our task for the nextThe Sunshine Economy: How The State Spends Your Moneyhttp://wlrn.org/post/sunshine-economy-how-state-spends-your-money
79537 as http://wlrn.orgWed, 21 Dec 2016 19:25:06 +0000The Sunshine Economy: How The State Spends Your Money